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Abstract. The differences in soil's body mass during shrinkage over time have changes in soil physical properties which provide an important reason to check the design of underground foundations in expansive soils. In this paper, a state-of-art of the soil heat stress-strain relationship prediction methods is checked using soil engineering laboratory experiments and Matlab R2013b numerical modelling. The shrinkage of soils with different cement content of (0%, 2%, 4%, 6% and 8%) with the same water content of 20 percent in room temperature for 24 hours, are critically reviewed in terms of their predictive shrinkage along with their strengths and flexural behaviour. The review highlights the prediction methods present to determine the effect of heat stress on the shrinkage of soil samples with different cement content after classifying the soils into clay, silt and sand depending on their particle size using sieve and hydrometer experiments. The results of the soil engineering laboratory experiments showed that as the cement content increases, the shrinkage of soil decreases as a result of increased elasticity in soil. The numerical analysis using finite element method in Matlab R2013b shows that as the cement content increases the displacement in the soil sample decreases and that the soil sample with 8% cement content has more resistance to shrinkage and less displacement than the soil with 6% cement, which has less resistance to heat stresses and more displacement.

Under Engineers Australia (EA) accreditation requirements for engineering education programs, graduate engineers must develop competencies within their chosen discipline at the point of entry to practice. Universities across Australia implement Work Integrated Learning (WIL) as a method to prepare students for the world of work and to give students the chance to develop the elements of competencies required by EA. For this project, we are particularly interested in work placements or vacation employment during undergraduate degrees.Many universities across Australia have consistently reported the "positive benefits" of work placements. Some benefits included increase in employability, job readiness, and professional identity, and to make the transition from university to work more effective. Despite the growing number of publications that highlight the benefits of work placements in improving competencies that are transferable, employers have consistently suggested that engineering graduates have skill deficits in communication, leadership, and social skills. These are some of the same skills outlined by EA.